Hi, I’m Liz O’Neill

A Little About Me

I'm based on Bunurong Country in Melbourne, offering online counselling sessions across Australia. Among Puffins Counselling is my solo counselling practice, created to support people who've had to carve out their own path in a world that doesn't always make room for them.

I'm part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and I live with invisible chronic illness. I know what it's like to have your experience doubted, and how much it can mean to finally feel believed.

My Path Here

My path has taken me through counselling, mentoring and crisis support, beginning with play therapy with young children. I've worked with people at many different stages of life, from acute crisis to personal growth. Working across such different ages and circumstances has shown me just how early we start absorbing stories about who we're allowed to be, and how long those stories can quietly shape us.

I also spent ten years working in hospitality before and during my counselling training. I understand the nitty gritty details of shift work, unstable pay and workplaces with blurry boundaries, and how these experiences can shape our wellbeing.

How I Work

I work with women, LGBTQIA+ people and neurodivergent adults. My work is shaped by feminist and anti-oppressive ideas, and my approach is informed by Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), parts work, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), narrative therapy and body-based approaches.

Together, we'll make sense of what's happening, ease some of the suffering you're carrying, build on what's already working, and find ways of moving through the world that feel lighter and more like you.

Seeing people differently

I see difficult patterns and "unwanted" emotions as responses that once made sense and not necessarily flaws to fix. In my experience, when people stop blaming themselves, change becomes more possible. I'm particularly interested in working with people who've felt reduced to a diagnosis or a set of symptoms, and who want support that sees them as whole people.

I'm passionate about how gender expectations and social systems shape the way we see ourselves. This includes the pressure women face to make themselves smaller, the corrosive effects of restrictive masculinity norms, or the experience of living outside the gender binary. I'm interested in how these internalised messages shape our relationship with ourselves and our wellbeing.